There’s no doubt that tools like Power Apps, Power Automate and the general rise in low-code, no-code development platforms have opened up app development beyond IT experts.
But despite this, there are still many advantages to opting for a ready-made app over custom built:
Cost
Ready-made apps are generally less expensive than custom-built apps because the development cost is spread across many customers, reducing the per-customer cost.
Speed
No-code apps are readily available and can be deployed quickly, often in a matter of minutes.
Enhancements
Low-code, no-code apps often provide regular feature and security updates to enhance functionality and keep your app secure.
Reliability
Ready-made apps have been thoroughly tested and used by many customers, making them more reliable and stable than custom-built apps.
Scalability
No-code apps are designed to be scalable, meaning they can handle an increase in users or data without any major issues.
Support
Low-code apps often come with support from the software vendor, which can be helpful if issues arise.
Calendar Overlay app
Cloudwell’s Calendar Overlay app was initially created as a solution-as-a-service offering for our customers but is now available to everyone as a low-cost, plug and play enhancement to SharePoint’s native calendar view functionality.
The app allows users to overlay SharePoint lists and libraries, Exchange calendars (Teams, Groups, Outlook, Shared mailboxes, resources, and more), Planner plans, and iCal feeds (Asana, SmartSheet, Canvas, and more…) in one place.
It can be used with SharePoint and Microsoft Teams, all with enhanced customization helping users make the most of their calendars, no matter what their job role.
How IT benefits from Calendar Overlay
- Streamlined scheduling offers org-wide purview of events.
- Security-trimmed to respect data source permissions integrity.
- Fully supports 22 languages and works with regional settings without any additional configuration.
How end users benefit from Calendar Overlay
- Have easy access to org-wide event details.
- Hover or click events to view additional information, view attendees, join meetings, and get task status.
- Align their calendar with organizational events and project milestones.
- Add events from the Calendar Overlay directly to the Outlook calendar.
- Quickly export and import calendar data source configuration settings for ease of use.
- Calendar shown in their own language and time zone.
Read our blog on the benefits of using a calendar overlay solution in SharePoint and Microsoft 365.
From project management, conference room scheduling to docket calendar and case management, the use cases for Calendar Overlay are numerous.
Find out more in our blog outlining ways to use Calendar Overlay.
Team Members app
Unlike many intranet solutions, Microsoft has no people directory feature to facilitate managing, finding and identifying co-workers.
The Team Members app solves this by allowing users to view members of Microsoft 365 groups, SharePoint groups, Teams, and Active Directory departments in one place.
The app is quick to install and can be set up within minutes on either Classic or Modern SharePoint.
How IT benefits from Team Members
- Add and display users from SharePoint, Microsoft 365 Groups and Azure Active Directory by department, job role, project team, security group, or seniority.
- Aggregate different data sources to display users.
- Create and display team hierarchies by group, site or department.
- Customize the app with brand colors for a seamless, native user experience.
- Display content in up to 22 languages.
- Use the email template provided to cascade benefits to end users.
How end users benefit from Team Members
- Content owners of departments sites no longer need to manually add/remove colleagues from their teams.
- Employees can find each other searching by name, department, job role, or project team, all from within their SharePoint intranet or Teams.
- Helps to speed up collaboration by enabling employees to quickly search and find colleagues in project teams or departments and contact them directly within the channel they’re working in.
- Plus, it acts as a handy Department Directory so employees can see who’s who, job roles and seniority.
Read our blog on how to keep track of your team members in SharePoint and M365.
Both the Calendar Overlay and Team Members app were developed for our existing customers to solve real business challenges and are now available to everyone as cost-effective, time-saving enhancements to SharePoint and Microsoft365.
We’ve done all the thinking so your organization can benefit from these ready-made solutions.
Take our free 15-day trial for both Calendar Overlay and Team Members and see how our SharePoint and M365 enhancing apps could work for you. Or meet us in person at this year’s 365 EduCon DC event from June 12.